Thousands of images seized from the home of Susan Powell's father-in-law show the missing Utah mother as she walks in public and sits in her car - apparently unaware that someone is taking her picture.

The photos - some of which are sexually suggestive - were obtained under public records laws Thursday by The Associated Press, and revealed on Thursday - three years to the day after Mrs Powell went missing.

Authorities uncovered the files while serving a search warrant last year at the home where her husband, Josh Powell, and father-in-law, Steven Powell, were living.

Images: Thousands of pictures seized from the home of Susan Powell's father-in-law show the missing Utah mother as she walks in public and sits in her car - apparently unaware that someone is taking her picture

Father and son: The files were uncovered in a home shared by Steven Powell, pictured right, and his son Josh, pictured left

Josh Powell killed himself and the couple's two young children earlier this year.

Some of the images seized during the search, including those of bathing young girls who lived next door to Steven Powell, were used earlier this year to convict him of voyeurism charges.

Other photos show a variety of women, apparently unaware that a camera is focused on them, as they walk along sidewalks, at the park or into the mall.

Convicted: Steven Powell was found guilty of voyeurism and child porn charges in September

Steven Powell was not charged with any crimes related to images of Susan Powell, but the files show she was often the focus of his lens.

In a folder labeled with her initials, SMP, there are images of her walking through parking lots or sitting in her car.

It appears the photographer is taking the pictures from another vehicle.

Some images zoom closely to Susan Powell's crotch or her backside, including a set of photos taken through blinds as she's bending over and doing laundry.

None of the pictures, which were found on a disc in Steven Powell's bedroom, show her naked.

The folder dedicated to Susan Powell contains nearly 4,500 images.

In journals that authorities have also made public, Powell describes himself as a 'voyeur' and Susan as an 'exhibitionist.'

He talks about using a mirror to spy on her under the bathroom door, and he writes about taking sexual pleasure in looking at images of Susan Powell that he kept on his computer.

Powell talks in his journals about taking lots of video of Susan during a trip to Silver Falls in 2009, and a folder of images from the trip shows only photos of her backside as she's walking.

In one entry, dated a few months before Susan Powell disappeared, Steven Powell wrote that he had just woken up 'from a most pleasant dream about Susan.'